Bottle-washer.



c. A. MILLER.

BOTTLE WASHER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 29. 1915- L 1L9 13 11 Patented May 2,1916.

3 SHEETSSHEET I mihwssrs C. A. MILLER.

BOTTLE WASHER. APPLICATION FILED MAY29,19I5.

Patented May 2,1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

C. A MILLER.

BOTTLE WASHER.

APPLlCATiON man MAY 29, 1915.

Patentadi May 2,1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

W M W. W

V Stateof YB i C is: a

RIJES A. MILLER, F BAINBRIDGE, GEORGIA, ASSIGNOB, TU MILLER. MANUFACTUR-OF BAINBRIDGE, GEORGIA, A CORPORATION" 015 GEORGIA.

BOTTLE-WASHE.

iters.

To all 'lbiliOWI/it. may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. Mmrnn, a

Bainbrid e, in the county of Decatur and eorgia, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Bottle-Washers; and I do hereby declarethe following to be .a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and usethe same.

This invention relates to washing apparatus, and more especiallytomachines for washing bottles; and the object of thesame is to improvethe form of spray wheel employed in machines of this character and adaptit for use in conjunction with a bottle carrier consisting of an endlessbelt having bottle holding cups thereon.

In an elaborated type of my machine a group or battery of several spraywheels is housed within a casing or hood, and the bottle carrier passedthrough and around the same so that the'bottles are washed; and a groupor battery of several spray wheels is housed within another hood, andthe carrier led through and alongside the same so that the washedbottles may be rinsed-thus completing the washing operation at onepassage of the bottles through the entire machine.

Broadly speaking, this has been done before,

but' I find that the washing and rinsing operations are more thoroughlyperformed by the use of the spray wheel hereinafter more fullydescribed. a

r Several embodiments of this invention are set forth in the followingspecification, reference being had to the accompanying draw- 'ingswherein Figure 1 is a side elevation, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of asimple type of this machine employing a bottle carrier consisting of abelt having a double series of cups, and showing a single hoodcontaining a pair of spray wheels which are rotated intermittently bythe cups striking against the teeth of the wheels. Fig. 3 is an enlargedperspective fragmentary detail of one of said spray wheels. Fig. 4 is anenlarged perspective detail of one ofthe links of the chain belt,showing the cup as formed as a part thereof. Fig. 5 is a plan viewshowing two single spray wheels and .a double carrier belt Wound aroundthem. Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional detail taken on about the line 6-6Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May a, rare.

of-Fig. 5, omitting details of the chain. Fig. 7 is a plan viewdiagrammatically illustrating the arrangement of a battery of spraywheels within one hood, a battery of double spray Wheels within anotherhood, and a double carrier belt moving through both batteries. Fig. 8 isa perspective detail partly broken away and in section, showing a doublespray wheel; Figs. 9, 10, 11 and 12 are diagrammatic details to bereferred to hereinafter.

In most any form of my invention a stand or table 1 of the properdimensions will be provided with" upright hearings or spindles on whichwill be mounted the several wheels yet to be described. In Figs. 1 and 2'an ordinary sprocket wheel 2 is journaled on one of these spindles 3and a driving sprocket wheel I is carried by the upper end of the otherspindle which is here shown as a shaft 5 driven by worm and gearconnections 6 from a suitable source of power here indicated as a wheel7. At a proper point or points on the table. casings or hoods 8 willcover the spray wheels yet tobe described and when the spindles of thesame are hollow or tubular, suitable pipes 9 will be led to them i sothat they may be supplied with a caustic solution'hot or cold forwashingpurposes, or with clean fresh water for rinsing purposes. IIence thesepipes must lead from proper sources of supply, and they will" beprovided with hand valves and other de tails not necessary to described.

The bottles to be washed are manually placed in and taken from a carrierwhich is in the nature of an endless chain belt moving over and alongsaid table, around said sprocketwheels 2 and 4: and alongside its spraywheels; and by preference this belt is made up of links 10 as seen inFig. 4, one link having a cup 11 on its rightside and the next link asimilar cup on its left side, and each cup having a book 12 whichengages the bend 13 of the next link.

No claim is made in this case to the details of the bottle carrying orholding cup, and it need not be described further than to say that it istubular and upright, preferably flared a little at its upper end asindicated at 14 so as to, admit the shoulder of the bottle neck, andopen at its lower end as indicated at 15 so that the mouth of aninverted bottle will readily receive the jets described below. In thesimpler type of machine shown on Sheet 1 of the drawings, this carrieris a single endless belt passing around two ordinary sprocket wheels anddriven by one of them, and the spray wheels mounted within the hood 8will stand one on the outside and one on the inside of the belt so thatboth series of cups will be treated. Obviously the jets thrown by thesespray wheels may be used for washing purposes or rinsing purposes. Fig.5 shows how such a belt may be passed around a spray wheel and thencepartly around another; and Flg. 7 shows how it may be passed through abattery of such spray wheels and thence through a second battery. I donot wish to be limited in this respect, as the particular disposition ofthe various units will depend upon the size of the plant, the number ofbottles to be handled, and the character of the liquid to be em loyed.

Sne object of the presentinvention is the provision of a peculiar formof spray wheel for injecting washing or rinsing water through the cupsinto the bottles. This spray wheel may be single or double, ac-

cording to its need, and the single type employed in 2 is best shown indetail in Fig. 3. Herein the numeral 20 designates the hub from whichradiate spokes 21 to a ring-shaped body 22, and the teeth 23 are shownas rising rigidly from the body mid-way between the spokes. In the bodyopposite each spoke is an upright jet opening or nozzle 24, and aconduit in the shape of a passage 25 leads from this jet openingradially inward through the spoke and has its inner end 26 opening intothe bore of the hub. The bearing or spindle for this wheel will besubstantially the same as that illustrated in Fig. 6. Its body 27 istubular as shown, preferably shouldered as at 28 so that the hub mayrest-thereon, and its reduced upper end is provided with a radial port29 standing at such height above the shoulder that the inner'ends 26 ofthe various passages will'register with this portas the wheel revolves.The water pipe 9 communicates with the bore of this spindle,

and therefore water will flow through it and out the port 29,out'through any passage 25 which registers therewith, and up through itsrespective jet opening 24. As the belt moves in the direction of thearrow in Fig. 2, the cups 11 pass into the spaces between the upstandingteeth 23, and

- the spray wheel is rotated as rapidly as the cups move along; and asand while each passage registers with the port 29, a jet of water willbe thrown upward into the bottle which at that time is passing over thecorresponding jet opening 24. One such spray wheel in Fig. 2 treats theoutside series of cups, and the other the inside series. This samegeneral construction is adapted to another form of single spray wheel asseen in Figs. 5 and 6. In the former view the left wheel has a hub 30and spokes 31 like the one above described, and at the outer ends ofsaid spokes is an annular body 32 carrying an upstanding sinuous rimwhose outward pro ections constitute the teeth 33 and whose inwardprojections constitute the spaces between said teeth. The wheels shownat the right of Fig. 5 and in section in Fig. 6 are precisely the sameexcepting that each wheel has a solid body instead of spokes and thebody 32 is provided with radial passages 35, the same as is shown insection passing through a spoke at the left of Fig. 5. The inner ends 36of these passages stand opposite the, port or'ports 29 in the spindle27. As the belt will ordinarily pass for a considerable distance aroundsaid wheel (rather than alongside of it as shown in Fig. 2) there may beseveral ports 29, or the port may be made of sector shape as seen at 290in Figs. 5 and 10.

What might be called a double spray wheel best seen in Fig. 8 isconstructed on .Inuch the same principle as the single wheel shown inFig. 6, with the exception that here the body 42 is hollow or made inupper and lower walls between which is a space 45 constituting a conduitwhich extends all around the wheel, and this conduit opens at 46 intothe bore of the hub 40. The sinuous rim rises from the upper wall of thebody and makes the teeth 43 and the spaces between them, and said upperwall is pierced with a series of jet openings 44 directed upward intosaid spaces, and a second series 44 directed upward at pointsimmediately outside the teeth 43. In other words, this spray wheelcarries a double set of jet openings, and by preference all theseopenings are in constant communication through the inner end 46 of theconduit or channel 45 with the bore of the hub, and therefore with thesource of water supply. This wheel is intended usually for use where thebelt having a double series of cups passes around it. In Fig. 7,however, I have shown a battery of these double wheels and a double beltpassing around them and in a serpentine course through the battery. Alsothis View showsa battery of four single spray wheels, and the same beltpassing between them. The double wheels may be located in one hood 8 andsupplied with washing water which flows constantly upward through allthe jet openings 44 and 44, and the single wheels may be located inanother hood 8 and supplied with fresh water for rinsing purposes. Figs.9 to 12 are employed to show diagrammatically how the port 29 leadingradially from the bore of the spindle 27 may be so disposed that theseveral passages 25 or 35 will communicate with it successively, or ifthis port is widened as shown at 290 two or three of 130 magma thepassages will simultaneously communicate with 1t. The inner ends of thepassages are connected in pairs as shown at 350 in Fig. 11, so that whenport 29 communicates with either the Water is fed to both passages. Thissegmental communication between passages may be carried around withinthe hub as shown at 450 in Fig. 12, so that all the passages 35 are incommunication with each other, and then whether there were one port ormore in the spindle, the water would be supplied to all the passages thesame as if they were all united in a wide conduit or channel as seen insection in Fig. 8. These views will be sufficient to illustrate how theengineer may adapt the idea to the plant being erected.

The use of bottle washing machines is so well known as to need no detaildescription here. But whichever form of spray wheel is employed, andwhether the carrier leads along one side ofit or more or less completelyaround it there isa certain distance throughout which the paths of thejets and the cups are coincident. In the operation of the machine abottle is automatically conveyed by the carrier to a spray wheel whichmay be said to have moving nozzles, the cup passes between the teeth onthis wheel and the bottle is centered directly over one ofthese nozzles,in this position they move in coincident paths alongside or partiallyaround the wheel, and simultaneously the water is adall till

mitted throughthe channel or passa e and jetted into the bottle. Alittle arther along, and in some cases quite some distance fartheraround the wheel, the carrier leads .away from it, and the cup andbottle come automatically out of engagement with the wheel, but notbefore the flow of water has been cut ofi'. Another feature of thepresent invention is the fact that a bottle once placed in a cup on thecarrier remains there until it 1s removed, and in th1s posltion it mightpass several times around the machine and through the casing or hood andover the spray wheel therein. This gives the oper ator the privilege ofleaving a bottle in its cup if it should need a second or even a thirdwashing. 3

What I claim is:

1. In a bottle washing machine, the combination with a rotarywasher-having an annulaibody with outer and inner rings of nozzlesdischarging jets upward; of an endless moving .carrier part of whosepath overlies said body, and two series of cups onthe carrier spaced toregister with the nozzles for conveying inverted bottles past the washerwith their mouths over said jets and washing them repeatedly untilremoved.

2. The combination with a belt carrying a 3. The combination with abelt, and a series of bottle cups carried thereon; of a spray wheelcomprising a sinuous rim forming teeth and spaces, a hollow bodyunderlying said rim, its upper wall being provided with jet openings insaid spaces adapted to aline with the cups, and a hub mounted on anupright axis and provided with an openbetweenits bore and the interiorof said 3- 4. The combination with a belt and two series of bottle cupscarried on opposite sides thereof in staggered relation to each other;

ofa spray wheel comprising a sinuous rim forming its teeth and spaces, ahollow body underlyin said rim and extending beyond the teeth, 1ts upperwall being provided with jet openings in said spaces and opposite saidteeth and adapted to aline with both series of cups, and a hub mountedon an upright axis .and provided with an opening between its bore andthe interior of said body.

5. In a bottle washer, the combination with a belt, and two series ofbottle cupscar- 'ried on opposite sides thereof; of a spray wheelcomprising a sinuous rim forming its teeth and spaces, a hollow bodyunderlying said rim and extending beyond the teeth, its

upper wall being provided with jet openings adapted to aline with bothseries of cups, and a hub provided with an opening communicating withthe interior of said body; and an upright hollow spindle on which thehub is journaled and having a radial port adapted to register with saidopening.

6. In a bottle washing machine, the combination'with a bottle carriercomposed of an endless belt having two series of bottle cups disposedthereon in staggered relation to each other; of a group of spray wheelsaround which said belt is led, another group of spray wheels past whichsaid belt is led, and independent hoods inclosing said groups, for thepurpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES A. MILLER.

Witnesses:

M. H. NUssBAUM, G. L. WALKER.

